Leonard Cohen 1934 – 2016

Leonard Cohen was a published poet before he became a singer/songwriter and most people probably know the covers of his songs (particularly Hallelujah) better than they know his own golden voice. His lyrics were brilliant (he spent five years writing Hallelujah) and we have quoted him a number of times on TreeHugger, starting with a chair that was inspired by his line "there is a crack, a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in". Or when I would write about new buildings being built like old ones, "as Leonard Cohen might say, a new skin for the old ceremony." Here I complained about the proposed demolition of Toronto's Club Matador (where the video for Closing Time was filmed) to put up a parking lot for people driving to the YMCA. And that video is perhaps the best one to end on. What a week.